


the demon, the devil and the beast

by Ciarre



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Possibly Future Smut, also angst, healthy poly relationships!!, some Trying Times, true ending AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-09
Updated: 2017-08-17
Packaged: 2018-11-11 13:22:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11149290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ciarre/pseuds/Ciarre
Summary: Their relationship is better left described with feelings rather than words.An AU in which everyone rides off into the sunset and everything's the same but Akira doesn't have to go home.





	1. the beast dons a blush

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is gay

Ryuji Sakamoto is the quintessential rebellious teenager; it goes without saying that he voraciously partakes in memes on a daily basis. Thus, it _also_ goes without saying that Ryuji couldn’t resist stealing sideways glances to his teammates sitting to his left in the speeding van: Walking Meme Yusuke Kitagawa, and the Walking Meme Enabler Akira Kurusu.

 

He was willing to ignore Futaba’s pointed feet constantly kicking him through the back of the chair because _damn it_ , the sight of the sleeping Akira leaning his curly head on Yusuke’s shoulder was curing his athlete’s foot and saving his GPA from the abyss. When he was absolutely sure he didn’t have any prying eyes on him, his hand inched ever so slowly towards Akira’s, which was folded neatly across his lap over Morgana. His hand grazed across Akira’s leg and lingered slightly too long against his inner thigh before brushing his pinky finger against his target.

 

All of a sudden, Ryuji jumped as the sound of a shutter went off much louder than intended and was faced with Ann cowering in the front seat pretending like nothing happened. After a chuckle erupted from the driver’s seat, Ryuji, though not book smart, was certainly _street_ enough to piece the situation together. Thankfully, none of the sleeping thieves seemed to awaken to the little mishap.

 

“Hey Ann, you better send me those pics!” Ryuji whispered menacingly.

 

Ann poked her head out behind her. “Sure thing!” Her voice had a little too much pep in it, similar to when she did her (bad) acting skits; it worried Ryuji marginally.

 

After a few seconds, he felt his phone buzz against his side and opened it up to check.

 

“Thanks, Ann- Wait what the _fuck_.” The deadpan look on his face at that moment was flatter than the treeless horizons of Texas, which, according to Ryuji, was probably in the north coast of America.

 

The fuck-word seemed to rouse Futaba from her half-dozing off state. “Ryuji! You said fuck! Something serious must have happened!” She scrambled to check her phone while Ryuji was incoherently screeching in the background.

 

Given the people involved, she was fully, completely, wholly, entirely, totally, thoroughly, utterly, absolutely, and unreservedly expecting a meme. She ran a mental checklist of every single synonym she could think of to drive home her point. What she saw, however, she was not at all prepared for. In the Phantom Thief group chat, an image of Ryuji’s soft gaze directed at Akira’s sleeping form with their fingers nearly intertwined capped off the barrage of memes that had been posted prior. She really wasn’t sure if the noise that came out of her mouth was a squeal or the most congested laugh she had ever laughed.

 

Ryuji sent Ann a glare so sharp that Yoshitsune himself would’ve been jealous. A charged Hassou Tobi, if you will, with the amount of times Ryuji blinked to sustain the death glare.

 

Ann just smirked and shrugged her shoulders up. “I mean, you did tell me to send it to you. I obliged!”

 

At this point, Ryuji wanted Yaldabaoth to come back to life and smite him with one of his many hands. He wanted to run into the arms of Morpheus and dream sweet dreams eternally. He’d rather be drop kicked off the golden chariot a thousand times and be hurled straight into the sun. But of course, he didn’t _really_ want to do any of that. At this point, he just really wanted to spite Ann, so he decided he would just own it. He reached over, face burning hotter than Ann’s spells, and grabbed Akira’s hand a lot firmer than it really warranted, jostling both him and Morgana in the process.

 

Using their connected hands, he did a little fist pump towards Ann’s direction and declared, “Just you wait, I’ll get some blackmail of you and Makoto soon!”

 

Ann, not having any of it, just took even more pictures of them while Ryuji flipped her off with both his hand _and_ Akira’s. Mind you, Akira was completely awake now and was staring blankly at their intertwined hands. But hey, he wasn’t complaining. 

 

Morgana didn’t seem quite as okay. He felt _something_ against his body that hadn’t been there before Akira woke up, and in his confused and half awake state, decided to point that out to him. “Hey, Joker, what’s this in your pocket- Oh. Nevermind.” At this point, Morgana jumped off his lap and into the very back seats, taking refuge in Haru’s peacefully sleeping form away from both Futaba’s playful torture and Joker’s… thing.

 

With Futaba’s harpy noises, Morgana’s escape and Ann’s shenanigans, Ryuji could already tell this was going to be A Day. Nothing can be that bad when he’s holding the Joker himself’s hand, right? ...Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy pride month
> 
> Akira can finally enjoy the Ryuji Romance Content without Atlus smashing his Gay Agenda Vibes. Also, ever notice in the ending, Morgana starts off the trip in Akira's lap, but by the time they see the sea, he's in Haru's? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)


	2. the devil has gold feelings, not a silver tongue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Circumstance, rarely satisfied, drives a hard bargain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was previously titled "the devil wears fake glasses, the demon wields a brush" with a very Ryuji centric and memey summary, but I kind of wanted to explore all of the 3 perspectives and stray away from the memes a little bit. Just a little. So I changed the summary and title to be more broad.

It turns out that a lot can go wrong even when Ryuji’s holding Akira’s hand. The problem was not the thieves, but the circumstances surrounding them that seemed to hold their fates with a dainty hand, observing as if deciding which outcome would most entertain the gods. That is, if any gods still remained after their feat just a few months earlier.

 

Everything leading up to the sea was perfect. Everyone was now awake to enjoy the vast expanses of blue stretching across the horizon. Makoto had sped 20 kilometers over the speed limit for the the entire stretch of the highway with no police in sight. Futaba had adjusted her legs to the side of the backseat, feet resting in Haru’s lap next to Morgana, instead of kicking Ryuji with no end. Yusuke, the absolute madman, had grabbed Akira’s other hand and was inspecting Ryuji’s embarrassed blush in contrast with Akira’s nonchalance with an artist’s scrutiny. Ryuji, being an ever so nice person, was completely willing to share Akira’s hands with Yusuke. He did, after all, have two of them.

 

With his eyebrow raised slightly, Akira glanced from his right to his left hand wondering why the boys beside him had decided to grab both of them whilst occasionally side eyeing each other. It wasn’t as though that he minded, per se, but he thought they should sort out this relationship when they go the chance to. In private. Without prying feline eyes of any sort in their vicinity. There had been a sort of affection blossoming between the three in ways he couldn’t best describe with words, but rather, with feelings.

 

Ryuji’s bond with Yusuke was confusing, to say the least. The tension between them seemed to be spurned from misunderstanding yet longing, not of any outright antagonism. Ryuji cared for Yusuke in a way that he could, again, not describe with words, but only with feelings. It felt lukewarm in the way a lake washed into fall with the remains of summer’s warmth, slowly resisting the colder turn of the tides. The way Ryuji’s warmth and exuberance clashed with Yusuke’s cold exterior to find a hesitant, transient middle ground. Cold, Akira noted, did not mean unfriendly. To him, it simply meant a catalyst for change, where the leaves would shed their greens in exchange for warm hues. They were gradually finding more in common, but when the leaves finally browned and cascaded into the wind…

 

Akira stopped the metaphor there. At this point, it didn’t really seem to fit the image.

 

In comparison, he felt that the relationship between him and Yusuke, and him and Ryuji, were fairly straightforward. Ryuji was his steed, forever pushing onward; in another universe, he would be Akira’s magician, the best friend bringing joy and turmoil in one. Yusuke was his anchor, grounding him in the most unexpected of places; his whimsical mind brought Akira to introspection more often than not, allowing him a channel to contemplate the inner workings of life itself.

 

He was snapped from his thoughts when the van swerved and Ryuji, who was not wearing a seat belt, flattened against his body.

 

“Oops,” Ryuji said, scratching his head apologetically.

 

“No worries,” Akira replied. He noticed the van starting to slow down and make an odd sound, but he didn’t pay it too much mind. He would regret that later, though there was nothing he could’ve done.

 

Soon after, the peaceful silence in the vehicle turned into an uncomfortable one as they realized that it was stalled on the side of the highway.

 

Makoto swore and hit the emergency lights. “I think the transmission died.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i didn't have enough memes in this chapter im sorry
> 
> next chapter will be yusuke centric


	3. the demon likes to trespass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Illegal beach nights with Yusuke.

Yusuke didn’t mind walking that much. He just thought of it as extra training, although there wasn’t really a point to _training_ now that their major enemies were gone. Hardships just made the resulting art that much sweeter, after all. But when they were walking down the side of the highway with luggage on their backs and a towing bill hanging over their heads, Yusuke’s tolerance for walking grew significantly thinner.

 

They were so close to the beach. So, so close. Just a few more miles and they were home free to do whatever they pleased in the refreshing water.

 

And eventually, after a long bit of suffering, they got there. By the time they were there, however, the sun was beginning to set and they needed somewhere to stay. The beach was closing in about an hour.

 

Since they didn’t have a functioning car, they decided to get a last minute hotel booking on the beach. Which was pricy, to say the least. While they initially considered cramming everyone into a single room for the sake of their combined bank accounts, Futaba argued that Sojiro would probably help foot the bill. Probably. And Haru had way too much inherited money than she knew what to do with, so she also pitched for separate rooms.

 

In true Morgana fashion, he managed to convince everyone to sleep ridiculously early after dinner so that they could get up even earlier to enjoy the beach and the sunrise all in one the next day. And of course Morgana wouldn’t rest until everyone else was in bed, so Akira had to _very carefully_ inch himself off the bed so that he wouldn’t wake up. When he stood up, he saw that Yusuke was still awake, looking as if he was contemplating a serious artistic decision (he was actually just thinking about food).

 

Yusuke saw Akira stand, sat up, and whispered, “Do you want to go onto the beach?”

 

Akira was a bit surprised. “You know it’s closed, right?”

 

“Ah, yes. But inspiration strikes much more vividly in a forbidden situation. I feel as though this will similarly capture our trysts as the Phantom Thieves, just in a different setting! The Forbidden Sands, I think that will be my next piece.”

 

Akira smiled, and shrugged. “Sure thing. Let’s head out then.”

 

Yusuke left the bed, not even taking care to make sure he didn’t rouse Ryuji beside him, probably accidentally hit him in the process, then picked up his art bag and walked out with Akira to the shores.

 

As it turned out, it didn’t take much to sneak past the doors and chains that kept the beach locked from visitors past hours. The searchlights were constantly spinning, but it didn’t seem to go towards the shore where they were. Being out here, although technically illegal, brought out a comforting feeling. Yusuke wasn’t sure when he had sought out the thrill of breaking the law, but he was 99% sure his experience with the Phantom Thieves had a lot to do with it.

 

“It’s quite beautiful and calm at night. The lights from the city contrasted with the darkness of the sands! I can almost picture the painting.”

 

“It makes me happy when you get so passionate about what you love.” Akira looked away, blushing a little. That was a bit embarassing.

 

Yusuke didn’t seem to catch on, however. “Ah, maybe I’ll draw you instead. Yes, the perfect model for my composition. I’ll capture your duality with the beach as the catalyst. This will surely light a spark within the masses.”

 

Thank the higher powers that it was dark outside, or else Akira’s blush would’ve been extremely obvious to see. “Oh, I’d be honored to be your model. Are you going to start drawing right now?”

 

“Yes, of course. I must capture the ideas swirling in my head and make them concrete, lest I lose them to the morning after.”

 

Akira was obviously no art model and had no idea how to pose, so he just laid down on the sands. Yusuke seemed to think this was fine. There was a bit of fussing about limb positioning, but Akira soon fell asleep. On accident.

 

Yusuke moved up close to sketch Akira’s sleeping face in more detail. He was amazed at how his features softened in sleep, the dark lashes framing his eyes all the more apparent without the fake glasses. _What a beautiful man_ , he thought, not sure if he meant just aesthetically or in another way that he didn’t yet know how to process. Sooner or later, he also fell asleep, with pencil stains all over his face to tell the tale. 

 

They hadn’t realized that they’d fallen asleep until they woke up to a flash and their teammates looming overhead in a vulture-like circle.

 

“Hey! You guys snuck out without me?!” Ryuji sounded mock-hurt.

 

Yusuke smirked. “Yes. I even accidentally kicked you as I was getting up but you didn’t move an inch.”

 

Akira, at least, looked more apologetic. “Sorry, Ryuji, but we just didn’t want to disturb you.” He patted Ryuji’s shoulder, and Yusuke did the same in imitation, but Ryuji swatted away only Yusuke’s.

 

“That’s for kicking me, jerk.”

 

Ann’s voice cut through theirs, high and clear, “Hey, you law-breaking criminals, cut it out and let’s watch the sunrise.”

 

And they did. The sunrise was a little privilege in life they didn’t think they’d enjoy so much, but after the turmoil they all went through together, it seemed much more symbolic of their journey. It signaled not only the end of book one, but also the start of their new story.

 

Or, in Yusuke’s terms, the start of a brand new painting. It was sure to be a masterpiece, right?


End file.
